ATLANTA — Conflict is intensifying between the Fulton County sheriff and commission over what to do with the Fulton County Jail's overcrowded, dilapidated and dangerous state.
According to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, he has been begging the commissioners for millions of dollars to try to alleviate and fix the numerous issues at the jail.
Meanwhile, the commissioners are trying to keep a tighter rein on how the sheriff runs the jail.
No one seems to dispute that the Fulton County Jail, now 40 years old, is worse than it ever was -- unsafe for staff and inmates, understaffed and overcapacity. The county wants to build a new jail, but that's years away.
Labat told commissioners at a recent meeting he doesn’t know how the building is still standing.
“God knows how, at this point,” he said. “Duct tape and bubble gum.”
Sheriff Labat and county commissioners are clashing over how to keep the jail operating without any more violence and deaths inside. For example, the inmate died in his cell last year in inhumane conditions, consumed by bed bugs.
“Hundreds of toilets and sinks out of order,” Labat told commissioners, “it’s a human crisis, and I have been begging for the resources for 887 days....I’m really, really tired of begging for money to do my job.”
Earlier this month, the sheriff asked the commission for $27 million more for the jail as an emergency stopgap. However, Fulton County Vice Chairman Bob Ellis told the sheriff that he wants to see results from the money already spent on the jail to deal with issues like overcrowding.
“I like data, but I damn well like results better,” Ellis said to Labat at the meeting, “and we’ve provided a significant amount of funding.”
That's when Labat interjected. The two began raising their voices, talking over each other until Chair Robb Pitts verbally intervened to stop the argument. Labat told commissioners on Wednesday that he almost walked out of the meeting after that exchange.
“I started to walk out of here,” Labat said, “but I didn’t because what I’m not going to be is the target of anybody’s political aspirations in terms of vacancies.”
The commissioners voted to keep Labat on a short leash, requiring his office to report to them monthly about jail conditions and improvements.
All in all, no one seems to be disputing the jail's problems -- just the immediate solutions.